60 Years in NATO – No Reason to Celebrate
“60 years of membership in NATO is no reason to applaud weapons and the military. The NATO alliance and the role Germany plays in the alliance must be scrutinized critically, which more and more citizens now are doing: While earlier a two-thirds majority supported NATO, opinion polls today demonstrate that only half of the population has confidence in NATO. NATO has lost approval in Germany – and that is a good thing,” declares Wolfgang Gehrcke on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Germany’s accession into NATO. The deputy Party Chair of DIE LINKE in the Bundestag continues:
“The finance and defense ministers are counting on an increase in Germany’s defense budget. Two percent of the GDP will be wasted for these expenses. What is lacking in social and development assistance can be found in expenses toward defense.
Today’s reality was once unthinkable. German soldiers are stationed in multiple corners of the world, and Germany is involved in many conflicts. Even the stationing of German soldiers on Russia’s western border appears possible – the world is not only coming apart at the seams, but the Federal Government has lost all reasoning.
German weapons are continually perfected. Germany is reaching for drones. German tanks are sold worldwide and German tank units are stationed in Eastern Europe. A 60-year membership in NATO has not made the Federal Government any smarter.”